If I Were You Summary: Understanding the Story's Message

Students of Class 9 will greatly benefit from the summary of If I were You English provided here. If I were You is a play written by Douglas James and portrays the story of Gerrard, a playwright. The play follows Gerrard’s escape from the hands of a killer by the use of his intellect and sheer wit. Class 9 English students often find the play, If I were You, to be an interesting read and this summary provides you with an overview of the character sketches included in the play.

If I were You Summary English - Highlights

To get a quick grasp of what the play by D. James entails, these highlights of If I were You are befitting. The primary character of the play Gerard is a playwright himself and is about to be on his way for a rehearsal when we learn that he encounters an intruder. But make no mistake as this is no ordinary intruder this intruder is a notorious killer who is being sought by law enforcement. The intruder or the killer’s intention soon unraveled. We learn that he is determined to kill Gerrard and take his place.

However, the central and the most exciting plot of this play is the core character’s or Gerrard’s ploy of convincing the killer not to take his life. This play takes on an interesting spin on the sheer cleverness employed by Gerard to save his own life. What makes it more interesting is that not only does Gerard manage to save his own life, he also helps the police in getting their hands on a wanted criminal all the while providing you with a new plot for his upcoming play.

If I were You English Summary - Details

The play If I were You starts with the sketch of the central character Gerrard. We notice that he is on the phone and soon to be on his way to a rehearsal. As he is finishing his conversation and starting to pack his bag, we are introduced to the second character of the story, the intruder, who is seen entering from the right side. The intruder notices Gerrard, bears a striking resemblance to him. With a revolver in his hands, the intruder orders Gerrard to throw his arms in the air and points his gun at him. The latter, however, is surprisingly calm even in this dire situation and begins to chat with the intruder. Gerrard is finally made to sit on his chair by the intruder.

The conversation between the two introduces us to the quirky Gerrard and the dangerous intruder. We can see that he stays alone in his home and owns a car. The author tries to portray him in a mysterious light as we see that he is at his home for a few days while on others he is out. He is also shown finalizing his trades over a telephonic conversation on the phone without meeting any of his associates in person.

The intruder on the other hand is portrayed as a jewelry robber, who has recently killed a police officer and is now on the run. The intruder, taking advantage of his resemblance to Gerrard, reveals that he plans to kill the latter and assume his identity. This will enable the intruder to get the police off his back.

By their conversation, Gerrard is soon able to learn that the intruder seems to be lacking which he tries to make up for with his overconfident nature. Gerrard sees this as an incredible opportunity and begins to hatch a plot. He manages to convince the intruder, that he much like the latter is also a criminal and a murderer fleeing the police. He also adds that in any case, if he is killed the police would end up killing the intruder.

Assuring that they both can escape, Gerrard asks the intruder to go to the garage, where using the former’s car, they both will be able to take off. As the intruder opens the door shown by Gerrard and goes in, we learn that it was a door for sure, but not to the garage but rather a cupboard. Taking advantage of the situation, Gerrard quickly bolts the door of the cupboard from outside. Then he informs the law enforcement of the intruder’s whereabouts.

Amid all this, Gerrard can realize that this day’s occurrence would make up for an entertaining play which he plans to make use of for his upcoming feature.

Conclusion

The play If I were You imparts some important teachings about how too much confidence can be harmful and how staying calm and alert can take you a long way, or even better, help save your life.

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